The Heimurinn Chronicles

Creatures and Monsters

Forest Trolls
Forest Trolls are the dumbest of the two types of trolls. They have grey or brown bark-like skin, thick sap like blood and beady yellow eyes. Plant growths sprout from their skin and their hair is a mossy green. They are generally slow moving, but are prone to bursts of energy and rage if disturbed. They stand at about 12ft tall at their hunched shoulders

Mountain Trolls
Mountain trolls live among the crags and caves of the tallest mountains. Sometimes called Cave Trolls, they stand anywhere from 15ft-22ft. They have skin that mimics rock they live around. Their backs are coated with lichen and moss.
Mountain Trolls do not go out in daylight because they will either explode or turn to stone. They seek shelter in cave and at the bottom of ravines where the sun cannot reach. Once the sun sets they make a game of throwing rocks at each other and wrestling in the valleys. People who have disappeared in the mountains are said to have been eaten by a Mountain troll.

Lindwyrms
Lindwyrms are giant bi-pedal serpents with a poisonous bite. They live in the far north and deep in the mountains. There have been tales told by the Fjallar about people and Alfar using lindwyrms as mounts..

Knifkottar (Knife-Toothed Tigers)
A Ferocious cat-like creatures with large knife-like canines. They are the apex predator of the Skaldic Lands Their fur has pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-brown or grey fur with a lighter underside. The Northern Knife-Toothed Tiger has a thicker coat of white fur, with the males having a pronounced mane. They have total body length of up to 15 feet and weight of 1,168 lbs.

Beithir
The Beithir is considered to be a relative of the Kelpie They were said to be sighted on summer nights when lightening strikes occurred. If a snake is killed then its head must be removed and disposed away from the body. Otherwise, the two parts will come together and the snake will come back alive as a Beithir.

Kelpie
A shape-shifting horse-like water spirit said to haunt rivers and streams. Kelpies are said to have backward hooves and could change between horse and water. It is said that the horse would mate with a mortal horse and its offspring would have golden wishing hooves. However, when approached, the offspring would suck one in to drown in the nearest body of water.

The Kelpie is also known to lure humans, especially children into the water to kill and eat them. It usually does this by encouraging children to ride on its back, where its skin becomes sticky – almost adhesive – and it then drags them to the bottom of the water to devour leaving only the heart or liver.

Selkie
Selkies are imagined as seals that can transform into humans, usually beautiful women. It’s thought that they transform by removing their seal skins and return to their seal form by putting the skin back on.
The majority of tales about selkies are romantic tragedies about lonely fishermen stealing the seal skin of a selkie while they are in human form, forcing them to come home with them to become their wife. The couple then have children and in some versions these children have webbed hands or other abnormalities, all the while the selkie continues to search for her skin as she cannot return to the sea without it. Once found the woman will return to the sea leaving the man desolate. However in some cases the man is completely unaware of the woman’s true nature, that they are selkie.
Another legend says that if a lonely fisherman’s wife drops seven tears into the sea a male selkie will appear and make love to her.

Merrow
Marrows are said to be of "modest, affectionate, gentle, and benevolent disposition, the merrow is believed capable of attachment to human beings, with reports of inter-marriage coming form the Islands.
Children of a human/merrow marriage are marked by “scaly skin” and "membrane between fingers and toes. But after some “years in succession” they will almost inevitably return to the sea, their “natural instincts” irresistibly overcoming any love-bond they may have formed with their terrestrial family. And to prevent her acting on impulse, her cohuleen druith (or “little magic cap”) must be kept well concealed from his sea-wife.
Merrow-maidens have also been known to lure young men beneath the waves, where afterwards the men live in an enchanted state. While female merrow were considered to be very beautiful, the mermen were thought to be very ugly. This fact potentially accounted for the merrow’s desire to seek out men on the land. Merrow music is known to be heard coming from just beneath the waves.